


atricapilla

by vanitaslaughing



Series: Ignoct Week [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: 32/20 Ignoct, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Magic, Animal Transformation, M/M, Magic, Older Ignis, Political Hostages, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-14 17:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13594887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanitaslaughing/pseuds/vanitaslaughing
Summary: King Noctis however merely clapped his hands together. “Scientia, then. It was a pleasure to meet you – truly a pleasure. I do have convinced the emperor to not punish you for whatever it was that you transgressed, so there is no need to worry about that.”That was a load off his shoulders, but Ignis still froze again. “That… that was not necessary at all, Your Majesty but… my deepest and sincerest thanks.”“Oh, absolutely, no need to thank me. If anything, I should be the one to apologise – had I not glimpsed you in the room upon entering it and had not been curious enough to investigate much to Cor’s chagrin you would have gotten away unspotted.”





	1. castellum

**Author's Note:**

> IGNOCT WEEK DAY 1 - Free  
> (The rest to come throughout the week!)  
>  
> 
> Fatal Vore - Today at 17:45  
> i need to..................................................... figure out a name for it though
> 
> mogmamittens - Today at 17:46  
> swan lake 2: the curse of the hot sexy older man

“But what about the island out at sea that’s always covered by a storm?”

His uncle, his tutor, his caretaker, laughed softly as he closed the book of fairy tales.

“You’d have to have wings to get there, Ignis. Some say that the people there have wings, some others say that they can turn into birds. Well, what do you think?”

The boy, seven years old at the time, pouted at the closed book for a while before shaking his head. “They’re birds. They have to be birds. You’d have heard about humans with wings by now, right?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s just say that the people on the storm island are extremely good at hiding. Would you still think they can turn into birds?”

Ignis crossed his arms and looked away from his uncle. “Of course. You can’t hide wings. Turning into a bird makes it much easier, though.”

* * *

He was the heir to a dukedom somewhere near the edge of the country. His parents had died in an uprising they had not actually been a part of, but the emperor had claimed they had. His birth name was all but sullied – not that a four-year-old sobbing and demanding to see his mother would understand that. His uncle had adopted him after that and taken care of him, and Ignis had quickly grown attached to the man and then into his role as inheritor of about seven thousand people’s well-being and a good chunk of countryside.

Then, when he was sixteen, the rumours began. The rumours that Duke Scientia, one of the most renowned and beloved people of the country, was following the path his late sister and brother-in-law had gone. The country was on the verge of rebellion, with his uncle as one of the major names brought up with it.

Naturally the emperor did the most likely thing.

He flattened the seeds of rebellion by taking what the people adored.

In Ignis Scientia’s case – it was himself.

A political hostage at the tender age of sixteen, normally the age that nobles of his standing were to be married to other nobles to continue the bloodline as soon as possible. He had to admit he was rather relieved when they clasped him in irons, threatened his uncle that if anything funny came from his district they would behead Ignis, and carted him off.

At the very least he was treated well enough, loneliness all aside. The emperor’s seat was a castle built on an island in the middle of a lake, in a mountainous region. It was breathtaking to look at, with the sunrise being the most stunning thing he had ever seen in his rather short life. The way the sun sparkled on the flat water surface. The way the cold and crisp wind seemed to make the trees on the mountainsides bristle, how the water eventually moved. Small ripples against the island shores, against solid rock. It was clear enough that Ignis swore he could see fish swimming in the distance.

The magic wore off rather quickly. The only way to and from the castle was over a bridge that could be pulled up and down whenever necessary. Any hopes of escapes he ever had in his head were dashed immediately upon looking back and seeing the bridge pulled up.

His second means of escape were dashed by the emperor himself.

Ignis had considered swimming – he was good at it, he enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps if he just managed to swim to the other side and ran away into the night…

But the emperor was a mage. Ignis immediately felt the sting of magic as he looked at his hand. Around the base of his middle finger now was a mark that looked vaguely like a burn, and the emperor merely smiled at him.

“Go too far into the water and you will die, Scientia. Otherwise you are free to go absolutely anywhere save for the kitchens at your own leisure. Enjoy your stay.”

Ignis knew immediately that he would never leave this place alive.

* * *

Things changed a little when he was thirty-two. He had long gotten used to his freedoms in captivity and spent most of his days outside. It wasn’t a bad life at all, but sixteen years in captivity and still the fires of rebellion were smouldering on the horizon, worse perhaps nowadays because his uncle had been reported as sick and there was no heir to the district without Ignis being there. They wanted their heir back, but the emperor had made it rather clear that Ignis would die the second they started rebelling. A country in turmoil, and Ignis could have ended it so quickly if he had ever just gotten the chance to run away.

A few days after his thirty-second birthday however an envoy from what the people simply called the Kingdom of Lux arrived. The man was elegantly dressed with an elaborate feather cloak and Ignis had to admit he was curious about that man. He had only heard of the kingdom in passing because it was the last bastion before the seas gave way to the relentless storm that allegedly held the fabled Kingdom of Lucis – the very fairy tale he had loved as kid. Lux and Lucis even sounded similar, and most people assumed the fairy tale was based on the islands that made up Lux.

He’d never seen an actual Lux; that black feather cloak was absolutely breathtaking, just as the sunrises in the mountains while sitting beside the lake were. And though it was unbecoming for a person his age, he was peeking around corners to see what the man wanted with the emperor. Or rather, the emperor’s representative. It was rather hard to hear what they were saying from here, however.

“’Tis rather interesting, isn’t it?”

Ignis nearly fainted when he heard a voice beside him and turned to look for the person who spoke to him.

It was another person dressed formally. A black suit, one hand in a fingerless black glove. On the other sparkled a pitch black ring. There was the soft jingle of metal when the person moved his hand a little – all those accessories had to be heavy.

Not as heavy as the feather cloak however. The stranger, too, was wearing one of these. Perfectly black, wonderfully shining feathers that rustled whenever he moved. There was even some sort of accessory on his head, sticking out under his messy dark hair. More feathers. Even the earrings seemed to be feathers. But through all the extensive black the stranger’s bright blue eyes shone like the lake during the day when it reflected the sky.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Ignis merely blinked at the stranger, who shot him a warm smile. Barely anyone acknowledged Ignis in this place after all those years – having someone actually talk to him was bewildering.

“No, I was… I was not startled. Are you with the Lux envoy?”

“Yep. I mean, it’s easy to guess thanks to the feathers and all, but I indeed am. Are you a servant here?”

“S… something of the sort.”

“The emperor’s son?”

“Hells below, no!” Perhaps it was not wise to hiss at an envoy from another country, but Ignis shook his head vehemently. The envoy merely laughed, the sound accompanied by the rustle of feathers.

“Very well, I shan’t pry an answer out of you.”

That envoy had to be at around the same age that Ignis was taken from his home, and he raised an eyebrow when the young man went back to peeking beyond the pillar. He couldn’t imagine leaving his home willingly, but the Isles of Lux were small. Perhaps he was the impressive other envoy’s son – the broad-shouldered man certainly looked like he could be related to this one. There was no point in pondering on it, and thus Ignis joined the envoy in peeking beyond the pillar again.

“Is that the truth,” asked the emperor’s representative in a low voice, and the brown-haired man dressed in all black nodded slowly, “very well, I shall get the emperor then.”

With that the stiff man left to alert Emperor Aldercapt, and the envoy sighed deeply before turning to the pillar that Ignis and the other envoy were standing at.

“Your Majesty, quit your japes. Leave the servant to do his work and _behave_ for once.”

“Your… Majesty…?” The words did not settle at first until the black-haired envoy moved. That was when everything fell into place and he bowed immediately. “I-I! My apologies!”

That guy who had just hung out with him trying to eavesdrop on his own servant and Aldercapt’s servant was the _King of Lux?_ It seemed like a joke at first, but the more he looked at him the more Ignis started to realise things.

The wonderfully crafted accessory with the feather adornments was nothing less than the very crown of the kingdom, though it looked different when worn, even more so since the king’s hair was peculiarly messy. All the accessories in general were made of the islands’ major export good; black metal, with inlaid grey gemstones. And the feathers shone with such an unearthly glow that Ignis had to wonder if they weren’t one of the rarest kind of feathers in the world.

Black swans, astoundingly rare, bewitchingly beautiful. It was forbidden by law to hunt these whenever they appeared because they were that rare, but there were some incidents. There had been some in the last few years, Ignis recalled. The soft jingling of the metal and the rustle of the feathers were horribly distracting but he kept himself bowed.

It sounded like the king was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the sound of Emperor Aldercapt arriving.

Oh no.

Indeed almost immediately he heard the sound of displeasure the man made whenever he saw his hostage.

“My apologies for the delay, Your Majesty. I hope this… meddlesome nuisance has not gotten on your nerves. If he has, you are free to punish him as you please.”

Ignis’ blood ran cold in his veins. It did not happen very often, but he still was a hostage. Perhaps to set an example they had beaten him bloody and bruised just a day before his uncle arrived back when he had been twenty-two. The poor man had looked so thoroughly spooked by seeing his nephew like this and that was the last time Ignis had seen his uncle. Other nobles who were with Aldercapt all the way seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him – though thankfully the physical contact was sparse at best.

But a literal king, one he had been outstandingly rude to? For a few seconds he thought he was going to die for certain, but then he heard a soft laugh.

“No, truly not. He’s charming in his own way.”

Ignis was left standing petrified and bowed and at the very least got to listen to the conversation. He remembered having heard about other envoys from Lux having been around before, but he had always missed them.

As it turned out ‘His Majesty’ was the fourth son of the royal family.

“Unfortunately my older siblings were all taken from me over the recent years, leaving me as sole inheritor to the throne.”

“I do recall receiving your older sister Ortus but three years ago.” The emperor’s voice was smooth. “My condolences to hear of her passing. She was a rather enchanting young woman.”

“That she was indeed, Emperor Aldercapt. As things stand however I was forced to seek out my kingdom’s allies and trading partners to ensure their continued support – I know that all of them agreed to working with my brother Crepus before his unfortunate passing. Meridia never even got to travel to make such arrangements, and the rest is history. Which brings us to this exact day.”

The discussion went on for a few more minutes before Aldercapt suggested they go somewhere less busy, with a glare shot directly into Ignis’ direction. King Noctis, as Ignis had heard now, said that he did not mind having Ignis around, but the emperor insisted. They left, and Ignis fled.

His heart was pounding loudly as he jogged through the halls to the nearest exit and out of the castle. Perhaps a stroll through the gardens would calm him down and keeping out of Aldercapt’s sight would mean no repercussions.

* * *

It wasn’t until the sun had nearly set that Ignis attempted to return to the castle – only to run into King Noctis of Lux and his servant again. All colour drained from his face as he bowed to the king.

All Noctis did was wave his hand.

“I beg of you, there is absolutely no need for that. I’m afraid I just never caught your name.”

Ignis exhaled a shaky breath. He was still not entirely ready to look up and not bow at this king yet and kept his position. “I… Ignis, Your Majesty. Ignis Scientia.”

“Scientia… like the duke of the Alacria district here in Niflheim?” The servant’s voice was surprisingly pleasant despite the stern look on his face. “I had no idea the duke had a son.”

“He… He does not, milord.” Better to be polite; Ignis knew not what position this man had. “I am his nephew.”

The servant said nothing in return. Ignis was almost curious about what his expression was, but he remained bowed and his eyes were locked to the ground.

The king however merely clapped his hands together. “Scientia, then. It was a pleasure to meet you – truly a pleasure. I do have convinced the emperor to not punish you for whatever it was that you transgressed, so there is no need to worry about that.”

That was a load off his shoulders, but Ignis still froze again. “That… that was not necessary at all, Your Majesty but… my deepest and sincerest thanks.”

“Oh, absolutely, no need to thank me. If anything, I should be the one to apologise – had I not glimpsed you in the room upon entering it and had not been curious enough to investigate much to Cor’s chagrin you would have gotten away unspotted.”

There were so many things that Ignis could have asked. Why a king was curious enough about someone in commoner’s clothes to leave his servant’s side. If the talks had gone in their favour. How the travels had been, how they would proceed, if they planned on spending the night here. But all Ignis did was stand there frozen – rather embarrassing for a 32-year-old man of noble origin, political hostage or not. He remained silent until the king cleared his throat.

“Please, look up. I swear you are not committing a crime by looking at me.”

He slowly stood back up – the king was smaller than him. He looked like a teenager fresh out of puberty actually – he likely was, all things considered. Ignis knew that Prince Crepus of Lux had been his age, with Princesses Ortus and Meridia being younger. Prince Noctis… was the youngest of the four. Perhaps barely twenty years old, and already King of Lux.

The King of Lux was smiling, his servant Cor unmoving as before but definitely not looking angry or displeased.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ignis Scientia. Next time I will not blow your cover like that.”

“It,” Ignis had to fight back a nervous smile, “was an honour, Your Majesty.”

The next movement startled him, for King Noctis reached for his own second earring and removed it. He offered it to Ignis, and Ignis felt all colour drain from his face again.

“Take it. To remember this meeting by. An old Lux custom.”

It would be exceedingly rude to decline it after hearing it was a custom. But the black feather earring definitely looked like it was a swan’s feather, elegant and shimmering even in the light or the setting sun. This earring alone had to be worth more than Ignis’ entire collection of books, and he hesitantly accepted it. The king merely shot him a bright smile that seemed to rival the sunset behind the mountains.

They left over the bridge – Ignis knew better than to even attempt to follow them. The guards at the bridge never let him set as much as a foot on it. He stood there until the sun had fully set, staring at the now drawn bridge mildly stumped by this entire encounter.

Perhaps he could attach the earring to the only keepsake he had of his parents; a necklace he wore at any given time.

* * *

The following day he awoke with the strange urge to sit by the water. The water was his curse – even as much as touching the lake sent sparks of pain through his entire body. Whatever curse it was that the unknown mage under Aldercapt’s employ had placed on him, it was extremely potent. The only way to undo a curse was to make the sorcerer remove it; or kill them. And Ignis had no idea who the mystery mage could be. Thus he remained captive against his own will, and the water with its bewitching beauty remained hauntingly close to him.

It would have been so simple to swim across, even though he had not attempted to swim since the day he had arrived here. It was a skill he had not lost over the years, he was sure of it.

The lake was beautiful in the mornings as usual, but there was one thing that had changed about it.

Normally there were just the very colourful fish that lived within it. Always underneath the surface, not something that Ignis saw from his position at the shore.

But today he saw them, one of the rarest sights of Eos to behold.

Seven black swans, slowly circling on the water.

The sight was more breathtaking than even the sunrise over the mountains, more gorgeous than even the night sky’s reflection on the surface. Ignis stared for several minutes, stunned into absolute and utter silence.

The water was off limits for Ignis. Yet he spent the entire day sitting by the shore, careful not to touch anything. He never left the castle without a good book and had read that. He left at dusk and came back the next morning – he had to admit he was overjoyed to see the birds again. The people in the castle had talked about them as well, how one was already rare but seven of them were likely a sign from the gods and a blessing that whatever the emperor was doing was under a good star.

Ignis was just happy to see them, because even if they were simply birds on the water it meant there was something new in this castle he knew every nook and cranny of. His prison had become a lot more interesting.

Days passed, and Ignis soon found himself talking to the birds. It wasn’t like he was expecting an answer out of most people, but those birds were soothing somehow. One of them even swam closer than the others when he did that. After that the people in the castle started talking about how he was reading to them, as if he was some sort of bird whisperer. At least all of them, even Emperor Aldercapt himself, seemed to approve of how Ignis seemingly made the birds stay.

They called it a good sign for his captivity, perhaps even a sign that the seeds of rebellion would soon die down. After all, so one of the maids said with a grin on her face one evening, Duke Scientia’s condition was getting worse and worse. Perhaps with his death the people would finally give up.

“Can you believe it?” The next day Ignis angrily tossed rocks into the lake, careful to avoid the birds. The one that was always closest to the shore seemed so unafraid of anything, but Ignis was not going to hit these birds that he had come to consider as his only friends. “They assume my presence keeps you here – but you’re just birds. Intelligent birds perhaps and signs of good fortune, but no one is keeping you. Least of all me. You’re just… ah, gods be damned. You’re birds. You don’t even understand what I’m saying. You can just spread your wings and fly away. … I can’t.”

* * *

A week later he heard that there was a shipment from Lux to arrive the next day. Ignis almost wanted to see what they had sent, but it likely were gemstones and precious metals, and he went to the lake. There were only two birds on the water this day. Perhaps the other five had left, but Ignis noted with a pang of despair that the one that always was closest to him when he came to sit by the shore was one of the five that had vanished.

He sighed deeply into his book and continued sitting there until someone put a hand on his shoulder.

Ignis was grateful that he was not one to easily jump when startled, because the only place he would have been able to jump to would have been the water. And that would have likely killed him. He threw a sideways glance at whoever had the gall to touch him unannounced, but he stood up immediately when he saw pitch black cloth and feathers.

“Ignis, right?”

Of all people it was the king again, another of his gentle smiles on his face. He was also completely on his own – no servant this time.

“Wh… Your Majesty. I had not… assumed you would be coming back to Niflheim so soon.”

He was not wearing his regal clothes this time. It looked similar to the garb Cor had worn, but the feather cloak was still the same. Otherwise he looked like a servant, a young and stunningly beautiful servant, but a servant regardless.

“Technically I was not supposed to come along, but I could not fend off the curiosity. Thankfully enough my parents are still both very much alive and the kingdom is perfectly capable of doing without me for a few days.”

Ignis bowed, this time making certain that he straightened back up after it. Lo and behold, the king smiled wider this time, obviously pleased that Ignis remembered that he was allowed to stand straight.

“I had no idea there were any swans here.”

Swans were always black. They were the rarest bird on all of Eos, and a stunning sight to behold, and Ignis almost cursed himself for assuming that this wonderful feather cloak the king wore was made of the feathers of this wonderful but rare bird. There was no way that the Kingdom of Lux would hunt these birds – he was likely wearing domestically bred raven’s feathers.

“They appeared… the day after you left. People claim that they are a sign of fortune for the rule of the emperor.”

“Do you agree with these superstitions?”

“… I don’t know. All I know is that these birds are breathtaking.” Ignis whispered and looked at the two birds on the water. “Absolutely breathtaking. Though there were seven instead of two… But five seem to have vanished.”

“Hmm.” King Noctis hummed softly before tapping Ignis on the shoulder again. “If you permit me the question; are you the son of mages?”

His father had been. But Ignis himself had never showed any talent for magic. He slowly shook his head. “I… my father was, yes.”

King Noctis nodded, then pointed at Ignis’ necklace. Ignis’ face heated up almost immediately – he had nearly forgotten that he had attached the king’s earring to it. But all King Noctis did was laugh again.

“No, no, absolutely do not be embarrassed. But I can tell you as much; the royal family of Lux are all mages. What you hold there is a magical artefact, and though you yourself are not able to cast elaborate spells, it should enhance your power just enough to… Hmm. Let you speak to birds. Have you ever heard them talk back?”

Ignis shook his head in terror – speaking to animals? That kind of spell was way above his skill level. He could only detect magic that was being cast around him, and the curse that had been put on him had dimmed that talent so much over the years that he had forgotten about it and his magic blood.

“I… I have not. I’m afraid it’s… beyond my abilities.”

King Noctis put a hand on the earring, and Ignis was fairly certain that the younger man heard his heart beat rapidly in his chest. He whispered something that Ignis did not hear properly and stepped back.

“You should be able to hear them now. Though birds cannot tell their names – otherwise they lose their ability to leave. Never ask a bird’s name and they shall remain your friends until the end of time.”

That was word-by-word something that came out of his favourite fairytale. Ignis had to choke back a laugh and instead chose to smile at the king. “Very well. Perhaps they will whisk me away to the fabled Kingdom of Lucis one day.”

Though he would much prefer a visit to Lux – if only to hear that clear laughter that rang over the water’s surface now once more.

* * *

The next day the seven swans were back on the lake, and Ignis let out a sigh of relief when he saw them again.

“I thought you had left,” he said after wishing them a good morning. He sat down as usual, a book in his hands. “But I’m glad to see you all back.”

He thought he heard a laugh for a second. But it likely came from some castle servants starting their morning duties.

“It would have been terribly dull without all seven of you around.”

“Tsk! Are the two of us really that terrible? Do we smell funny or anything?”

Ignis dropped his book. One of the two swans that had been around yesterday swam up to the shore, its eyes fixed on Ignis.

“M… Y… I… O… Of… of course… not?”

“Well!” The swan craned its neck and swam in a circle, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that Ignis was about to faint. “I would damn well hope so!”

It swam back to where it had come from, almost the very back. One of the other six slapped its wings at it, and Ignis definitely heard them arguing for a moment.

The one that always was closest to the shore made a sound that definitely sounded like laughter. Ignis’ heart rate was through the roof right now – he desperately grabbed his necklace and removed it slowly. The voices stopped and the only thing he heard were the swans making their usual noises.

King Noctis actually was a mage. He was a mage and he had enchanted his necklace so he could understand the birds on the water. Ignis slowly put the necklace back on, his eyes fixed on the swan on the water in front of him.

“There is no need for alarm. I have to admit I am rather happy that you finally understand us.”


	2. fluentum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ALMOST FORGOT MY ANANTA BECAUSE I WAS FINISHING THIS. PARKOUR.
> 
> Ignoct Week, Day 5 - Free

“Regis, is this really wise?”

A sigh. “He has to.”

“We already lost Crepus, Ortus and Meridia to mortals… my heart can’t take the last of our children flying out to complete the trials of royalty and never returning.”

Like any other Lucian the king wore black. The feathers rustled softly as he sighed again and lowered his head a little. “Neither can mine, Aulea, but such has ever been the way of our people. At least if Noctis never returns we know that the mortals truly have turned for the worse and we can extend the storms to reach the isles. Let them believe Lux is dead and let us fade from memory once again.”

The queen threw an angry glance in the direction of her son talking agitatedly with Cor Leonis, his protector since childhood. Noctis had ever been the youngest, the one none expected to undertake the trials of royalty. He had never been supposed to be constrained by these chains, and it showed. He wasn’t even the same age as his siblings had been when they had set out.

Black swan feathers. They were rare, rarer than anything precious in the world. Mortals had once protected these birds – Lucians in disguise – but nowadays even just a single feather could fetch an outrageous price.

“… Perhaps even if he does return it would be wise to let the storm ‘destroy’ Lux and let us go in peace.”

“It would be Noctis’ call. If he returns he will be the rightful King of Lux, while we pass through the storm to Lucis, free from the mortal world’s troubles.”

“He will return,” Queen Aulea whispered, “he has to.”

* * *

Lucis lay beyond the storm; the Isles of Lux did not. Lucians generally pretended to be truly mortal, and therefore they had to pretend that kings and queens died or abdicated. In truth they all flew beyond the storm, to the heart of their kingdom that had long since become a fairy tale. Unlike royalty the general populace on the Isles of Lux barely changed, though sometimes they applied a magical glamour to themselves to at least appear as if they aged.

At twenty, Noctis was young. Horrendously young, and one of the very few ones at that. But with three older siblings… Crepus had been the perfect heir. Diligent, polite, clever. He fell sick during his travels a few years ago, and after that he never reported back. His caretakers returned without him, sobbing that they had lost the prince to mortals.

Ortus left and never returned, and it had nearly broken his mother’s heart. Ortus had been bewitchingly beautiful, with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. Very few people had been able to outsmart her; some even said that if she hadn’t been a princess she could have easily become a minister of outside relations. But Ortus never returned, taken away over night. All that remained of her was blood and a single black feather that Queen Aulea had clutched as she sobbed.

Noctis and Meridia, the two who had never been expected to be in this situation. Meridia had been shot down barely more than a week after she left, and with her went three of her six protectors. Gone was the gentle healer from one second to the other.

Mortals.

His mother detested them, sincerely so. Noctis understood that. But still he found himself oddly excited as he prepared for his travels – he had never met any personally. There were traders that sometimes came to Lux, but royalty was rarely allowed to see them.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, little prince,” his uncle’s voice was drawn-out and sing-songy as ever, “but if you’re _that_ excited to speak to humans, you’re in for disappointment.”

Ardyn wasn’t exactly his uncle, but the closest thing he had to it. A distant relative, several times removed, and he had lived on Lux since his very birth. He was effectively the minister of foreign relationships, mostly due to the absurd amount of time he had spent learning everything he could about the way mortals lived and thought throughout the ages. He had also been the person to teach Crepus and Ortus everything they needed to know about the outside world; Crepus because as heir to the throne he needed to and Ortus because she insisted on it. Ardyn had not been the same since their deaths.

Now he was coming along for Noctis’ travels as one of his six protectors. No one really knew what went on in that old man’s head, but everyone agreed that it was clever to have someone along who could parse humans better than most others.

Cor was diligent and experienced; Gladiolus was outstandingly powerful; Prompto was the son of traders and knew his way around mortals to a degree; Cindy was an excellent negotiator; Monica managed to quell conflict as soon as it arose within any group she was in. Ardyn may have been scathing and resentful and all-in-all confusing, but he knew more about the lay of the land than any other in this group.

Noctis himself was the most skilled mage on Lux, perhaps even over in Lucis. Few were so excellent at bending the forces of nature to their will, but fewer still knew how to keep the balance. He could feel spells woven by mortals and Lucians alike. And he was ready to leave his home behind for a while. As long as none of his companions returned without him he was free to be gone from the Isles for as long as ten years.

He never saw the way his mother cried when they left.

* * *

Sometimes he wondered how mortals managed to travel the way they did. It was infuriatingly slow – but only Lucians were capable of turning into swans and fly the distances they needed to go.

Travelling the world and speaking with mortals soon turned out to be exactly as Ardyn had said. Dreadfully boring. Noctis was not the best at political talks, though he quickly got better at it under Cindy’s tutelage during their travels. After the first hesitant conversations he soon learned how to properly keep his dignity around mortals, and the fifth or so noble leader of a country was impressed by how elegantly the fourth son of the Caelum family could speak his mind. If only the mortals knew how elegantly he could fly.

They only flew at night, counterproductive at best and terrifying at worst.

“No, flying around during the day will only endanger us,” was all Cor said about that. And though his companions addressed him as ‘His Majesty’ out here, he was still the prince they were to return home in one piece.

It wasn’t until they were getting closer to the end of their travels that Noctis started feeling something.

There were quite a few human mages. All of them paled in comparison to what even the most unskilled Lucian could do, but there were human mages nonetheless. The closer they got to the cluster of dukedoms and stretches of otherwise unclaimed land that made up the Niflheim Empire, the more Noctis started to feel it. Something dark was at work there, but he could not put a finger – or a feather – on what exactly it was.

None of his six companions seemed to know what it was either. Some advancement in human magic, Cor suggested. Something dark enough to consume a soul, Cindy whispered. Something altogether bad that they should avoid at all cost, Gladiolus said. Something hideous slithering about and ready to strike when people last expected it, mused Prompto. It would be unwise to go unprepared, Monica sighed. Ardyn said nothing and merely turned his head to the sky that night.

It turned into a constant sting in Noctis’ side, even as they landed and announced themselves as King Noctis of Lux with his servant Cor Leonis, arriving a day earlier than anticipated. Something about the castle on that island in the middle of the lake was foreboding, even as he crossed the bridge beside Cor.

“After this we can return to Lux.”

Noctis nodded, half listening to the man. “Mhm.”

“This has gone surprisingly smooth. Perhaps we ought to consider making travelling by night a requirement for this.”

“Eh. People’ll always break that law. And we can’t see that well in the dark, Cor. … Can you feel that?”

“I’m not as sensitive to magic as you are, Your High-- Majesty.”

Now that they had crossed the bridge his skin started itching. At least his heavy feather cloak made it hard to do so, as it would have been very unbecoming of a prince, let alone a king, to scratch himself in a fervent stupor because some sort of magic felt wrong.

“That’s… Cor, I don’t like this. Not at all. Something dark is afoot here.”

“Leave the mortals to their mortal foolishness.”

* * *

It was like staring at the moon during a crystal clear night. Whoever that servant was, Noctis was completely starstruck when he entered the room. Before Cor could properly react, Noctis had gone off to the sides, behind the pillars that stood in the room. He needed to get a closer look at this man. He couldn’t return to Lux at peace with himself if he didn’t.

That impulsiveness was what most people were worried about regarding the youngest and only living prince. He had never been taught how to rule, how a prince had to act. No one had ever expected him to travel the world and remind the mortals of their old trading agreements – not that Lucis needed them, but for the royal family that world-spanning adventure was their coming of age ceremony. Before Cor could react a servant of Emperor Aldercapt’s came in and started talking to him. Noctis had to hold back a snort – Cor should have seen that one coming. Besides, he was here to speak to the emperor and not to some servant. Cor could handle this, and Noctis could get a closer look at this man.

He was tall, lean, and merely became more and more handsome the closer Noctis got to him. Prince of a country or not, that man was a sight to behold that even the most beautiful people on Lux and in Lucis could not rival. If only he weren’t a mortal. There was absolutely no doubt that this man would have easily managed to become a member of the Crownsguard on Lucis with looks alone.

He was intensely focused on trying to hear what Cor and the servant were talking about, though judging by his expression he was not catching it properly. That deep frown – he hadn’t even noticed that Noctis was effectively standing next to him by now – and the dark expression on his face didn’t seem to suit that face at all.

The conversation was mere pleasantries, literal talk about the weather and how the travels had been. Cor was saying that the king was waiting outside and would come in to speak with the emperor.

“’Tis rather interesting, isn’t it?”

He hadn’t meant to startle the man, but Noctis almost wanted to start asking why he froze up and threw a cautionary glance sideways; that behaviour was odd even for a mortal. Was he not a servant? Did he not belong here? Was he a spy from a foreign country?

_A swan hunter?_

That man was definitely seizing him up, though not as obviously as some other nobles did. Those green eyes were focused on the ring of his lineage a little too long for comfort, so Noctis waved his hand a little. “Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Those words seemed to make the stranger relax a little. “No, I was… I was not startled.” His voice was soft and definitely fit him, Noctis noted with a small smile. “Are you with the Lux envoy?”

“Yep. I mean, it’s easy to guess thanks to the feathers and all, but I indeed am.” He moved a little to make the feathers rustle, and the man nodded slowly before Noctis continued. “Are you a servant here?”

“S… something of the sort.” That was odd. Then again he looked way better than any of the others, though his clothes were rather modest. Still too elaborate for a simple servant, but not elaborate enough to rival that of the emperor’s personal guards.

“The emperor’s son?” He certainly looked good enough for that, though Noctis had no idea what the emperor looked like.

“Hells below, no!” The stranger hissed and started shaking his head furiously. It had to take a lot of bravery to hiss at at an envoy, but Noctis was very amused.

“Very well, I shan’t pry an answer out of you.”

The strange sting of magic was still there, almost overwhelming now. Noctis decided to go back to staring at Cor and the servant, very well aware of how uncomfortably close he must have been for the stranger. A few moments later he felt the man also peeking beyond the pillar with him, just in time to see and hear the servant up ahead say that he would be getting the emperor.

Cor let out a sigh when the servant was gone.

“Your Majesty, quit your japes. Leave the servant to do his work and _behave_ for once.”

The man froze up again. “Your… Majesty…?”

Noctis moved away from the pillar – he had better do as Cor asked and come back to not cause any trouble. The man behind the pillar bounced out after him and immediately bowed deeply. “I-I! My apologies!”

He was _cute._ Noctis had to stifle a snort; he hated formalities to begin with but this man was charming enough to let transgressions slide. Not that there had been any, Noctis had not introduced himself and had appeared out of nowhere and interrupted whatever it had been that this man had been doing. Likely seeing what would happen.

He was about to say that it was alright and there were no apologies necessary, but the door opened and Noctis turned around to see Emperor Aldercapt for the first time in his life. The man nodded at him and Cor, then immediately started glaring into the direction of the stranger Noctis had been with moments ago.

“My apologies for the delay, Your Majesty. I hope this… meddlesome nuisance has not gotten on your nerves. If he has, you are free to punish him as you please.”

The way the stranger paled was definitely suspicious now. He had reacted as if he had expected Noctis to slap him earlier, and now the emperor was saying that if he had somehow offended Noctis, Noctis was free to use force against him. That wasn’t how one treated servants. That wasn’t how one treated their children. Not even mortals would stoop so low, Noctis hoped.

He frowned a little and shook his head slightly. “No, truly not. He’s charming in his own way.”

The man remained frozen in place, fear in his downcast eyes as Noctis and the emperor started trading formalities and pleasantries. This entire scene was kind of surreal and while the man was still a sight to behold, he really wanted him to be able to leave. He couldn’t exactly make up a lie as to why he was here so the emperor let him go unpunished even after Noctis had left. He should do as much for the man.

Eventually the emperor suggested continuing the conversation somewhere else while once more glaring at the man. Noctis agreed.

The poor guy fled the room after that.

* * *

At least he managed to convince the emperor to leave the man alone. A quick lie about how he had talked to Noctis as he waited outside and had agreed to show him the room a little was enough. Still, it was too odd, and Cor commented on that as well.

“You were right, Your Highness. Something here is truly afoot.”

“I worry about the man behind the pillar. The magic in that room it was… choking, almost. Whatever it is that is going on here, I feel like he is involved.”

“The spellcaster, you presume?”

“No. No, definitely not. But I would like to delay our return home to investigate this. And for that I… oh, there he is.”

He bowed immediately, and Noctis waved his hand a little, almost ashamed. He had nearly caught him and Cor discussing something important.

“I beg of you, there is absolutely no need for that.” They would need someone who could walk around the place if Noctis wanted to get behind the mystery spell that even now seemed to cover the entire area. The stranger was perfect for that. “I’m just afraid I never caught your name.”

Names were binding. Lucians could get trapped in the mortal world if a stranger called them by their name – a side-effect of being in bird-form, some presumed. An ancient hex some others said.

“I… Ignis, Your Majesty. Ignis Scientia.”

A fitting name. Ignis, like fire. Cor however furrowed his brows a little.

“Scientia… like the duke of Alacria district here in Niflheim?” Ardyn had talked about the country a little as they approached it. Noctis had nearly forgotten about that, but Cor tilted his head a little. “I had no idea the duke had a son.”

Ignis visibly paled. “He… he does not, milord. I am his nephew.”

Niflheim was on the verge of civil war, Ardyn had mused. Somewhere a resistance was gathering, and people assumed that the Duke of Alacria agreed with the need for rebellion. But somehow the emperor had managed to keep the man on a leash.

Was Ignis that leash? Likely so.

Still, Noctis had all but grown up around traders, and all of them always said that Niflheim was in a very fragile state of peace. Ortus had said that it had been like that for nearly two decades. Two decades… how long had Ignis been here?

Noctis clapped his hands together. There was no need for idle speculation; he would have more than enough time to learn about this later. “Scientia, then. It was a pleasure to meet you – truly a pleasure. I do have convinced the emperor to not punish you for whatever it was that you transgressed, so there is no need to worry about that.”

Ignis himself seized up, almost embarrassed. “That… that was not necessary at all, Your Majesty but… my deepest and sincerest thanks.” That small relieved sigh was just about as heartbreaking as it was heart-warming.

“Oh, absolutely, no need to thank me. If anything, I should be the one to apologise – had I not glimpsed you in the room upon entering it and being curious enough to investigate much to Cor’s chagrin you would have gotten away unspotted.”

That was the truth. Nothing but the truth. Noctis noted that Ignis still did not look up, but he definitely looked like he wanted to say something. Again with the formalities.

“Please, look up. I swear you are not committing a crime by looking at me.”

Now that he was standing straight, Noctis finally got a closer look at the man.

Tall and lean. His hair was a soft shade of brown, though it looked red in the light of the sunset. Those green eyes were absolutely stunning, like part of a deep clear lake. Straight posture, sharp eyes – he looked just about as intelligent as Ortus had been. He shot Ignis a warm smile.

The King of Lux was smiling, his servant Cor unmoving as before but definitely not looking angry or displeased.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ignis Scientia. Next time I will not blow your cover like that.”

“It,” that nervous smile Ignis was managing only made him look a little weirded out, “was an honour, Your Majesty.”

What Noctis had in mind next would definitely have Cor whacking him with a wing later, but Noctis still quickly removed one of his earrings and grabbed one of Ignis’ hands. The skin was surprisingly soft for someone who looked like a servant more than anything else.

“Take it. To remember this meeting by. An old Lux custom.”

* * *

“Excuse me!? We’re staying!? But why, Noct!?”

“What? Are you for real?”

“Really? I mean, I am not opposed to it, Your Highness, but...”

“Pardon? I thought y’all were done ‘n we were returnin’ home now?”

“Hah. I was expecting that much the second you said you felt something.”

Noctis silenced his companions with a raise of his hand. “No buts, ifs, or whys. We’re staying. The magic here is thoroughly unsettling, and that’s final. I cannot let something so eerie pulse in the mortal world. Though not as humans. It is much easier to spy while in bird form. And I know you’re all about to complain. But this lake belongs to the emperor. He above all has to make certain nothing happens to us. After all...”

He grinned as he looked up at the moon.

“Black swans bring good fortune.”

* * *

Many mortal superstitions were hilarious to think about. But the belief that black swans brought good fortune was rooted in the fact that every single black swan was a Lucian in disguise. All Lucians were mages – and if they were treated well enough, travelling Lucians definitely put their magic to use and gave the person who had done them a favour something. Good harvests for as long as they lived. Rain after a long drought. Their loved one returning from war, a sickness gone. As long as people treated the swans well they thought good fortune was to come their way.

Seven of them on the lake surrounding the emperor’s castle was an outstanding development.

All Noctis really did was keep an eye on Ignis. He had appeared, almost magically drawn in by the water. Even now as he sat there nervously looking up from his book every so often to see if he was not imagining the swans he looked just as good as before. Noctis did notice that he had attached the earring to the necklace, and Cor pointed it out to him over the course of the day as well.

Charming.

Too bad that Ignis did not seem to be able to cast spells. Other mortal mages often could speak with animals if they wanted to, and Ignis’ necklace was definitely a magic trinket of some sort, but… no avail. Whatever the Lucians talked about he did not seem to hear it.

Eventually Ignis started reading to them. Monica said that this was how crushingly lonely people acted.

Indeed, over the passing days not a single person ever came looking for Ignis. No one ever called him for his duties. In the rare instances that a servant came by this very part of the island, they ignored the man sitting there with a book without fail.

It was Ardyn who eventually noticed another oddity.

“He doesn’t touch the water at all.”

Noctis flapped his wings at his uncle. “How’s that relevant?”

“Mortals love water just as much as we do. He’s young, looks fit enough. Why doesn’t he just swim somewhere? That longing look on his face… He definitely looks like he wants to. So why… not?”

* * *

Eventually a shipment was due to arrive, and Noctis used it to do two things. One, he could give the traders a message for his parents. Two, he could use it to slink in.

He and Prompto swapped clothes that morning. They were about the same size. The only thing they could not switch were feather cloaks, but those barely looked different to a mortal’s eyes. So Noctis got in with the others, with Prompto and Gladiolus on the lake and Monica, Cor and Ardyn helping the traders.

Noctis had a different goal in mind, and it sat by the lake staring at the two swans in horror. Ignis had long since started to consider the swans his friends, that much was clear. The way they listened to him even though no one else did. The way they were always in the same space, without fail. Noctis himself had gotten kind of addicted to the man’s voice, had almost forgotten why he was here in the first place. But now that he was in human form again he could feel the sting of magic, as strong as it had been before.

Once again Ignis did not notice him, but Noctis knew that this was a side-effect of being ignored. Why would anyone come to talk to him anyway? At least that was the way Ignis thought. He had said as much once when he talked to the swans on the lake not knowing that they were the Lucians.

He slowly put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder, and the man cringed before freezing entirely. He threw a glance to his side, likely only to be met with a feather cloak and black clothing. He almost jumped to his feet once he saw the feathers.

Noctis shot him a smile. “Ignis, right?”

For a split moment Ignis checked his surroundings – but Noctis was on his own and dressed like a servant.

“Wh… Your Majesty. I had not… assumed you would be coming back to Niflheim so soon.”

“Technically I was not supposed to come along, but I could not fend off the curiosity.” Noctis almost laughed at how easy it was to lie to mortals when they did not know that Lucians actually existed. “Thankfully enough my parents are still both very much alive and the kingdom is perfectly capable of doing without me for a few days.”

Ignis bowed and immediately stood back up, and Noctis’ smile turned into a grin. He had remembered that Noctis was no fan of bows and professionalism when alone, which by itself was very thoughtful but coming from such an attractive person... It took Noctis a good amount of self-restraint to not say anything weird and instead turned to look at the lake. Prompto and Gladio were staring right at him and Ignis.

“I had no idea there were any swans here.” He could _hear_ the way Prompto sighed to Gladio from the lake and it was rather hard to hold back a snort.

“They appeared… the day after you left. People claim that they are a sign of fortune for the rule of the emperor.”

“Do you agree with these superstitions?”

“… I don’t know. All I know is that these birds are breathtaking.” Ignis whispered and looked at the two birds on the water; Prompto let out another sigh, this time clearly directed at Noctis. “Absolutely breathtaking. Though there were seven instead of two… But five seem to have vanished.”

“Hmm.” The necklace was the reason Noctis had come in the first place. He pat Ignis on the shoulder. “If you permit me the question; are you the son of mages?”

There was a moment of silence – Ignis was not sure what to say. Therefore Noctis knew that he was the son of a mage before Ignis ever answered.“I… my father was, yes.”

Noctis nodded, then pointed at Ignis’ necklace. The man’s cheeks turned slightly red once he seemingly realised that he was wearing Noctis’ second earring along with the necklace, and Noctis let out a laugh. Cute.

Still, he needed Ignis to focus, and seemingly the only way to get the man to do so was to tell as much of the story as he could. “No, no, absolutely do not be embarrassed. But I can tell you as much; the royal family of Lux are all mages. What you hold there is a magical artefact, and though you yourself are not able to cast elaborate spells, it should enhance your power just enough to… Hmm. Let you speak to birds. Have you ever heard them talk back?”

Ignis shook his head, not that Noctis needed an answer to that. “I… I have not. I’m afraid it’s… beyond my abilities.” One of the two on the lake laughed at the redundant question.

Perhaps the next step was a little to straightforward, but Noctis still put a hand on his earring on Ignis’ necklace. He absolutely felt how Ignis’ heart skipped a beat, but even a simple spell such as enchanting an already magical item to give its wearer the power to speak to animals needed a certain amount of focus. Still, Noctis stepped back once the deed was done; as much as he wanted to remain there for a moment longer he needed to get back with the traders who were now leaving the castle.

“You should be able to hear them now.” There was one thing he needed to tell Ignis. “Though birds cannot tell their names – otherwise they lose their ability to leave. Never ask a bird’s name and they shall remain your friends until the end of time.”

* * *

The next sunrise came, and surely enough Ignis arrived again. He looked at the lake and at the Lucians on the water surface, and smiled widely when he saw that they were all back in full number again.

“Good morning. I thought you had all left.” He nodded at the birds. “But I’m glad to see you all back.”

Monica let out a sound that was more laugh than snort. Noctis had told the others what he had done, and though most of them did not entirely approve of even more of a distraction from the magic they were investigating, they had all agreed that being able to communicate with someone would be helpful.

For a split moment Ignis looked confused – even though Noctis had told him what he had done to the necklace he still was not expecting to hear a bird speak. “It would have been terribly dull without all seven of you around.”

“Tsk!” That was Prompto, half playing to be offended and half laughing at Noctis. “Are the two of us really that terrible? Do we smell funny or anything?”

Ignis dropped his book while Prompto swam up to the shore.

“M… Y… I… O… Of… of course… not?” Were he in human form, Noctis would have put a hand on his own cheek and sighed at how dangerously good-looking Ignis was even when he was haplessly stuttering at a bird.

“Well!” Prompto swam in an offended circle. “I would damn well hope so!”

He returned back to his position, but not without getting slapped by Ardyn. Prompto definitely deserved that, and Noctis let out a laugh before he looked back at the shore. Ignis had grabbed his necklace and taken it off, thus missing the argument Prompto and Ardyn had in the very back. It wasn’t all that exciting and peaked with Prompto calling Ardyn an old man and getting slapped over the head again.

Noctis waited until Ignis put the necklace back on.

“There is no need for alarm. I have to admit I am rather happy that you finally understand us.”

It wasn’t like Ignis needed to know that he was speaking to the very same person he had spoken to just yesterday, and their voices in bird form were suitably strange that he would not notice it right away.

“I… I had no idea you _actually_ understood me...”

Noctis laughed again. “Most people would not assume that birds are intelligent enough. Trust me when I say at least we always understood what you were saying. Ignis, was it?”

“Y-Yes. I’m Ignis.”

It wasn’t very often that one got to meet the same person twice, but Noctis still bowed his head a little. “A pleasure to meet you officially then, Ignis.”

The man at the shore shot Noctis a smile. Noctis wished he could smile back.


	3. nimbosum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should i really be posting at 4am is the biggest question we should all be asking here, but hey.  
> this was fun to work on, overall. it's a nice way to cap off ignoct week unless i decide to give the timed quest a spin after.... sleeping... depends on when i wake up.
> 
> im just honestly glad im done. two back-to-back fandom weeks for someone whose writing schedule generally is "whenever inspiration strikes, otherwise Nothing" is... intense?  
> but yeah! its done.
> 
> ignoct week, day 8 - free day

The next few weeks passed in a dizzying disarray of things happening all at once. Ignis spent his time as he usually did, beside the lake and beside the seven birds. He quickly learned that all seven of them were rather colourful characters, different but not so different that their group fell apart. The one always in the front soon started talking about the world at large, the places they had been, and Ignis found himself utterly captivated by those stories. Apparently the birds had been around the world at least once, from the way it sounded.

He started bringing books on other countries out at dawn. He had read most of them, but the swans offered some interesting trivia about them that books had never offered Ignis. The one with the shortest temper especially seemed to be an endless well of knowledge regarding the world – it was bewildering.

“You’ll have to excuse them,” the one in the front said apologetically when the short-tempered one was honking angrily and chasing the loud one around, “they’re starting to get edgy.”

“How come?”

“Normally we do not stay in one place for a long time.”

“… If I am keeping you here, you do not have to stay. Continue your travels, return once a year for me. That would be e--”

“No. There is something about this place that intrigues me; we stay.”

One morning the front one was missing and the other six were on the waters, circling lazily.

“Hey, good morning?” The birds turned their heads into his direction as they always did when they acknowledged him. “Only the six of you today?”

They muttered something before the short-tempered one said that they were indeed only the six of them today. Ignis almost wanted to ask more about where the front one, the one he spoke most to, had disappeared to, but he did not get to ask. He heard footsteps and turned to look at whoever was approaching through the gardens.

Again wearing the clothes of a servant, but Ignis had almost expected it to be King Noctis again. The man raised a hand in greeting and Ignis returned the gesture. What he did not expect was the king to sit down next to him silently, only staring at the book that Ignis had brought with him that day.

“You do seem to have varied interests. Last time we met you had a novel of mingling quality and contents with you – now you bring with you a detailed travelling report?”

Ignis only laughed. “There is only so much you can read of one topic before you get bored of it, Your Majesty. What gives me the honour of your unannounced visit?”

“Mere… curiosity. There are indeed six swans out of the seven that you mentioned. How peculiar.”

“Peculiar? How come?”

And so King Noctis started telling him an ancient tale. How once there had been an entire family of such swans, over a hundred, living on the isles. Beings that time had no meaning on, creatures that spoke their own language.

“Then the mortals came. Though they did not share common tongues, birds and mortals soon decided to join together to make the isles inhabitable – and soon they learned each other’s languages, giving birth to a new one altogether. A peace that the birds would honour even as the first settlers died and left the isles to their children, and then these children left the isles to their children. So it went on and on, until time’s passage muddled up the memory of the mortals, leaving them to question as to why the birds were allowed there in the first place.”

The story he told with his gentle voice was familiar, eerily familiar. Ignis had heard something similar hundreds of times in the past, out of his uncle’s mouth even. That was a premise rather similar to the ancient fairy tales about the Kingdom of Lucis, beyond the storm. Still, he did not interrupt as King Noctis said that after some disputes, the mortals started hunting down the birds.

“Only the last seven were left, and the leader of the mortals decided that it was time for them to go. No birds, he said as he pointed bow and arrow at the birds who were but peacefully staring at him. They had no intention of harming the mortals, for their contract bound them still. It was the leader’s daughter who stepped between her people and the birds, but too late. The arrow her father loosed hit her instead. After losing everyone so far, the daughter who had ever been a friend to the birds was the last sacrifice they suffered to make for the sake of their contract. So the winds on the islands rose, rose ever higher until an insurmountable wall of water had risen. The tempest was howling, unforgiving. In unrelenting rage did the birds cast out the mortals into the tempest and laid the daughter to rest with their brethren. A friend to birds to the very last.” King Noctis looked thoughtful as he stared at the birds upon the water. “If there are truly seven as you say… Perhaps you are part of a retelling of the story.”

Ignis blinked and stared at the birds too. One of them was clearly laughing at the mere _suggestion._

“I… I don’t think so, Your Majesty.”

“And how come? You have your birds. You live with the leader of the country you’re in.”

“I’m not noble enough.”

“Ah? I thought you were the son of--”

Ignis immediately shook his head again. “Not that kind of noble. If given the chance to run and protect myself or perhaps protect the others at the cost of my own life… I would run.”

Ignis was lying, but he couldn’t exactly tell King Noctis that the birds were the only friends he had, that they were the only living creatures that talked to him as if he existed. Other than King Noctis, of course. 

* * *

 

“Noct. I’m starting to think that maybe the source of the magic is Ignis after all.”

“I told you before, he can’t cast.”

“Doesn’t mean he can’t accidentally contribute to the fact.”

Staying in animal form for too long made them give into their animal instincts. They spent the night sleeping at an abandoned hut further into the mountain range that surrounded the mountain lake upon which Emperor Aldercapt had built his castle.

The next morning Prompto swam up next to Noctis. Not good.

“Hey, Ignis. Since the king enchanted that necklace and all… maybe you should look into teaching yourself how to use magic?”

Ignis stared at the birds with wide eyes. Noctis definitely saw how his hands shook in terror as he set down the book, which was worrying to begin with. But all Ignis did was shoot them a smile – Noctis saw how his eye twitched nervously – and shook his head slowly.

“No, I’ve never shown a talent for the magical side, my father having been a mage or not.”

Prompto had a point, of course. Untrained mages often bled their magic into whatever spell was being cast nearby, but if that were the case Noctis would have long detected it. He loved his friend and companion dearly but sometimes the fact that he spent more time with traders showed. He wasn’t good at magic, just as Ignis himself was.

Though Ignis had a lot of potential, as opposed to Prompto’s clear lack of it. 

* * *

 

“Well, the other day – you weren’t there, so you missed it – King Noctis was here again. I’m starting to think he sneaks in alongside his servants just for fun.”

The swan laughed. “Devious.”

“Irresponsible. He has a kingdom to rule.”

“Well, he is… what did you say, the fourth son of the royal family of Lux? It is rather rare for the youngest to inherit the throne, so there’s a fair chance people merely neglected to teach him. That, or he just does whatever he wants. That isn’t unheard of.”

Ignis almost wanted to kick a foot in the water to splash some on the swan, but after sixteen years he had a natural aversion to the lake. He couldn’t do it, even if he wanted to. Lately even just being near the water made his skin tingle funny. “Unheard of or not, it’s… not right.”

“Not right?”

“I’m… nothing. No one. It’s like I don’t exist to anyone but you birds and him anyway.”

For a moment the swan looked at him in silence before paddling up to the shore. The six further on the lake murmured something that Ignis didn’t understand, but his eyes were fixed on the bird in front of him anyway.

“No one is nothing, or irrelevant. You m-- humans have your place in stories, and you are always the protagonist in these. It’s up to you whether it’s a tragedy, a comedy – or a fairy tale.”

* * *

The king appeared again and again. Ignis noticed that around this time one or more of the swans always vanished, but King Noctis always laughed it off.

They didn’t do much, but Ignis learned a lot about the Kingdom of Lux.

It was a small island chain, with the eternal storm of the seas just beyond their islands. While not particularly large, there were deposits of a rare metal that many royal or noble houses across Eos desired. And if it weren’t those houses then it were mages all across the countries, smatterings of wicked witches scouring the wild, entire villages of wizards; the metal enhanced magical properties.

Ignis wondered if his necklace wasn’t made of the same metal, to which the king merely replied with a laugh.

“But of course it is – the second time I met you, I could scarce believe my eyes!”

“Your Majesty--”

“Please, just use my name. Call me Noctis.”

Summer passed surprisingly quickly, and with the last day of it King Noctis once more appeared beside him. Ignis had gone ahead and sneaked a book on magic out of the library one of these days – the librarian was just about the only person who treated him like a little more than an insignificant speck of dust dancing on the breeze. As it turned out most of what this book was talking about went over his head – he was not a mage. Not like King Noctis was.

And lo and behold, the man appeared, the rustling of feathers announcing his arrival before he ever did as much as say anything.

This wasn’t a bad way to spend his days, truth be told. Ignis was definitely not used to a human being paying attention to him, but even just sitting side by side made him feel safe and comfortable despite the fact he was still in the same prison he had been in since he was a teenager. Sixteen years on an island and on his own. Not that King Noctis knew anything about that – he still assumed that Ignis was here for something else. Perhaps as heir to the throne that Emperor Aldercapt would be leaving empty one day. Perhaps as future tutor of whoever would inherit the throne.

The last day of summer was bittersweet at best, because winter would mean that sitting by the lakeside to watch the swans would become impossible. They had even said that they would likely fly somewhere warmer and return in spring – so inevitably it would become too cold and Ignis would be all on his own again.

“Well, there is a chance that they will still spend the winter here – birds rarely do as they say.”

Ignis laughed as he closed the book.

“You’re a strange guy, King Noctis. You seem to know a lot about these birds.”

That mysterious smile the younger man shot him was attractive in a strange way, and Ignis looked away quickly.

“Perhaps not these birds in particular, but this is definitely not my first time seeing black swans. There were quite a few on Lux as I grew up.”

He hadn’t considered that before. The Isles of Lux were far removed from the other countries and had its back to a never-ending roaring tempest. Black swans were extremely rare on Eos and they were said to bring good luck. Perhaps that was the only reason the isles had not been swallowed up by the tempest yet.

“So there’s more of them on Lux?”

“Yes. Though not outrageously many, but there are a good number of them on the isles with us. And though we cannot tell whether the story is true or not, we honour their presence. We speak to them and they speak to us, and all in all it is a rather mutually beneficial relationship.”

“So that coat… those are swan feathers then?”

“Many people not from the islands assume they are crow’s feathers. Did you, too?”

“At first, yes. But the longer I looked at your earring…”

King Noctis laughed and put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder. The wind went through the trees around them.

“You should definitely come to Lux with me one day.”

Ignis merely jumped to his feet, apologised quickly, and marched back to the castle. King Noctis remained under the tree, staring after him.

He didn’t know that Ignis couldn’t leave. No matter what, the guards posted at the bridge would immediately recognise him. He couldn’t touch the water. He likely even forgot how to swim by now, and it was worse than anything that had ever happened to him in his life thus far. He wanted to leave.

Leave together with King Noctis.

* * *

It was one rainy afternoon that Ignis sat down and leaned against the usual tree that Noctis picked up that something was strange.

First off, he obviously had a black eye. Second off, something about the atmosphere regarding the strange spell that held this place in its embrace had changed.

“Ignis,” he called softly from the lake, “are you all right?”

The man took a moment to react, but once again merely shot Noctis a smile.

“I’m fine.”

Monica behind him muttered that something was off enough that even she felt it now. Prompto too quivered, and fear shot through Noctis. Was Ignis the mage after all?

“Actually, I’m not.”

Noctis turned his head back to the shore, and realised with a jolt of horror that Ignis was sitting under the tree as usual with his legs hugged to himself. Leaves fell from the trees as a gust went through them, and Ignis let out a pathetic sound that was half choke, half sob.

“My uncle died last night.”

Cor and Ardyn stuck their heads together to hurriedly discuss something about politics in the landscape of a country on the verge of civil war. How Ignis should be on his way back to Alacria to take over as its new duke before anything else. Noctis swam closer to the shore to avoid that kind of discussion; it was almost impressively heartless to discuss the logistics of a kingdom that was not theirs when a person from someone’s family had just passed. The closer he got to the shore, however, the more Noctis felt that strange magic dancing in circles around the island, rippling across the surface of the water. That wasn’t just a spell, he realised with a jolt of terror. A spell, a hex, an enchantment were all easy to understand.

Someone had put a curse on something here, and Ignis was related to it. And whoever had cast the spell had increased its potency.

“I couldn’t even be there for him… I was where I have always been and… I’ll never see him again.”

Noctis blinked. He had never asked about Ignis’ reasons for being here, but as he watched the man weep a horrifying realisation settled in.

“Ignis… are you even allowed to leave this place?”

He got no answer. For the rest of the day Ignis sat in the rain in silence. Not once did someone come looking for him.

It was Cindy who pulled Noctis aside that evening, a deep frown on her normally cheerful face. Her father was a friend of his father, and Cindy was at least a century older than Noctis – pretty much everyone was.

“Highness. Somethin’s real damn wrong, an’ I know ya fancy that Ignis, but… even Monica ‘n Prompto are feelin’ the magic now.”

There was something brewing on the horizon, Noctis agreed. Something far more sinister than he could have ever predicted. Still he left the hut to look across the lake for an hour.

It was gorgeous. The clouds had cleared up and given way to the stars above. The moon reflected off the still surface, with only the gentle sound of ripples breaking against the shore. Sometimes one of the many colourful fish that lived in the lake broke through the surface, a sudden splatter of light against the perfectly pitch black surface that only showed a mirror image of the skies above. It was enchanting, quaint even. There weren’t many places even in Lucis that rivalled the sheer beauty of this mountain lake. Yet there was this sinister feeling, a dull throb in his side. Magic of the darkest kind, spun by mortal hands. Noctis had been taught over and over that normally mortals did not dabble that far in the darkness. The only person who had ever played that close to the abyss with their magic was Ardyn, currently asleep and closed off to another’s magic. But even he had little to no idea what was going on, and that was terrifying. Ardyn was one of the oldest creatures in Lucis. He had been there before the kingdom had passed into memories, then become a fairy tale. Ardyn himself had been one of the infamous seven survivors, the one to raise the tempest. The one to remain behind to watch over the isles that the leader’s daughter had loved.

The fact that he did not know what exactly was going on here opened a whole new abyss in front of Noctis – mortals terrified him. He was deeply and thoroughly unsettled by what was going on here. And Ignis seemed to be related to it, if not the centre of it.

Morning came, and Noctis waited as he always did. Ignis took longer than usual, and he dragged his feet. He looked utterly crushed and did not say anything even though all seven of them greeted him.

He wanted nothing more than to pull Ignis into a hug, but he could not do that with wings. It would have been strange enough to announce that he was actually the man that Ignis only addressed as ‘King Noctis’, but actually turning back into a human would have likely sent Ignis running. So on the lake he remained, the pang of magic almost choking him this time around.

It was well into the afternoon that Ignis started talking. His voice was soft and heavy as he started telling them a fairy tale that they all knew.

Except this time it came from a mortal, and Noctis was oddly heartbroken as he listened to that story. How a single human had managed to befriend seven birds from beyond the storm, and they came flying to help her at any given time. How the birds carried her beyond the storm, how the fabled lands of Lucis were inhabited by people who could turn into birds. How that single human helped defend that fabled country from the darkest of magic at the cost of her life, and how the seven birds that had brought her beyond the storm and to their country had mourned her for seven days. How on the seventh day the gods said that perhaps one day she would be reborn to gain her wings. Ignis closed the story with a broken smile as he watched the sun set across the water. Softly and barely audibly were the words “I wish I had wings, even if my uncle always said that humans belonged on the ground,” and Noctis almost wanted to scream that they could give him wings.

* * *

At night, the spell got less intense. Noctis carefully plucked at its strings, but it soon became apparent that he was dealing with a curse. Undoing a curse from ground up without the caster noticing was near impossible – the only way to undo a curse was to kill the caster. The night was harshly cold as he sat there beside the crystal clear water. The spell rippled across the surface of the lake, in waves that crashed against Noctis.

The next day was surprisingly warm and pleasant, and his six companions stared at him silently.

“I have… an announcement to make. But first I would ask of you one more thing.” He sighed. “You have stood with me for nearly a year, despite the fact that we did not have to stay here. I would only ask of you that you do not question what I will ask today. First, I wish to ascertain whether Ignis is the weaver of this spell or not. In the event that he is not… Ardyn.”

The man bowed to him. “Yes?”

“When was the last time we let mortals live on Lux with us, in Lucis even?”

“… Your Highness, that is most unwise--”

“I don’t care. If Ignis is not the one at the centre of this spell, we will take him with us. Sew a feather cloak for him on Lux in that event.”

With that, they set out, Noctis fiercely determined to find out who had cast the spell. Ignis arrived as normal, his black eye healing slowly. The exhaustion was plain on his face, and Noctis’ heart hurt as he casually swam up to Ignis after an hour or so of silence.

“Say, Ignis. I’ve been wondering one thing. Can you swim?”

Ignis blinked and looked at him, surprise and fear plain on his face through that veil of grief that had hung over him for the last week. “I…”

“Winter will come soon, and we will be leaving with the first snowfall. Today might be the last day that is warm enough for a human like you to join us in the water.”

There were a multitude of emotions that Ignis should have expressed. From the way he normally acted, he should have been embarrassed, perhaps mildly offended. Happy, shocked maybe. Definitely flustered.

All Ignis did was look away with a deep shudder running through his entire body. “Can’t.”

“If you cannot swim, we can always help y--”

“I can’t.” Ignis let out a laugh, unhappy and raw despite the fact his voice was still quieter than usual. “I cannot leave this island. Not on foot. Not by water. The only way I would be able to leave is by flying – but humans cannot sprout wings and fly away. So trapped I stay, as year after year goes by.”

Noctis stared, unable to say anything else. The wind had been knocked out of him until he finally settled on: “Are you a prisoner?”

“Held against my will to quell a rebellion that will take place no matter what; a hostage to keep a fire they cannot kill down. I’m trapped in a place where I can go wherever I please, I am the blade they dangled over my uncle’s head for the longest time. One misstep from Alacria, and I would be the one to lose their head. I wish I had! I wish I had.” Ignis covered his face in his hands. “Before winter ends I will turn thirty-three. I will have finally spent more of my life in this place than at home, more time in captivity where people pretend I do not exist than in a place where I existed.” He dropped his hands again. “I can swim. I used to be fantastic at it.”

His six companions had swum up next to Noctis, all seven of them now staring at the man on the shore.

“Then… why not… swim away?”

The spell that rippled across the water’s surface even now. Ignis clearly was debating with himself, whether he was truly going mad from speaking to birds for too long or this was truly happening. Eventually he got to his feet and staggered to the edge of the water that he had always so carefully avoided. Noctis could only watch in horror as he put a hand in the water.

Nearly immediately a hissing sound started sounding from the water, and the magic around them uncoiled like a snake ready to strike. All seven swans flinched when the magic sprung up, a curse in action, but Ignis did not twitch. He only sat there, tears streaming down his face.

“If I go too far into the water I will die. I will never leave this island alive.”

The emperor was so obsessed with keeping Ignis in one place that he had put a curse on him. A vile curse that used the clear waters of this lake against him, a magic spell so vile that it turned the very element that ever protected Lucians into acid.

Noctis undid the spell that put him into his bird form when the waters turned bright red around Ignis’ hand. He lunged forwards and used his weight to topple the man over, not without sprinkling lake water on his face. It hissed against Ignis’ skin like a furious snake, burnt its way through his face. But he barely even registered the pain.

“Noct, what the hell!”

“For goodness’ sake, Noct!”

“Reckless fool!”

“Oi, y’blew our cover!”

“Your Highness!”

“Ah, damn it all.”

Noctis merely twirled around and gave them a signal to shut up, even as they one by one turned into humans. Ignis on the ground was stunned into complete silence as Noctis slowly raised his voice. “Gladio. Prompto. Cor. Cindy. Monica. Ardyn. The six of you swore an oath to do as I say, for my word is that of Lucis.”

Lucis, the land of legends. Lucis, beyond the tempest. Ignis on the ground was struck by several realisations all at once, unable to make sense of what was going on here.

“As blood of Lucis it has ever been our charge to watch the mortal world, to pretend we are of Lux and as mortal as they are. I have seen enough in this place, however. There is something dark afoot here.” That growl the young man let out seemed unfitting, considering how gentle and even playful he was whenever he had talked to Ignis. Whether as bird or as human, he realised with no small amount of shock. “Dark enough to warrant a judgement. So judgement I shall pass – to erase a curse, the one who cast the spell has to die.”

The six emerging from the lake bowed to Noctis as he offered Ignis a hand. Ignis hesitantly took that and saw the fire and fury in Noctis’ eyes as he turned towards his servants once more.

“They would use water to keep a prisoner. So drown them in fire.”

* * *

All Ignis could do was stare in horror as the castle burned. He sank to his knees again at some point as he watched the inferno start. Not a single person ever came his way – none of them did now. Just seven people against an entire castle, and everything was aflame. It did not even last an hour before there was nothing but the crackle of fire as it ate its way through the woods.

That was the time Noctis reappeared, just about the same moment that Ignis felt like a burden lifted from his soul.

Once more Noctis offered him a hand, and Ignis hesitated.

“The curse should be lifted.”

“...”

“There was no other way to ascertain who was the caster. Had there been another way, trust me, I would have looked for it.” Noctis kneeled down next to Ignis and reached for the hand that Ignis had put into the water earlier. The skin was burnt and he did no longer feel it, but Noctis still put it between his.

“My sister Meridia was the better healer. What a curse did magic cannot fully undo, but...” For a short moment Ignis thought that Noctis would set his hand on fire too, but nothing of the sort happened. The angry burn went back a little until only a few scars remained. The feeling of magic crept up his arm and through his entire body, up to his face. What the cursed water had burned would partially remain as haunting scarring, Noctis said when he finished the procedure.

“What will you do, Ignis? You are free to leave. We can return you to Alacria, help you tell your people that there is no war they will have to prepare for.”

Ignis’ voice shook as Noctis helped him to his feet. “If I return alive… those who would have fought will herald me the hero who killed Emperor Aldercapt. If I return the others will brandish me as the man who… murdered Emperor Aldercapt. It would be wisest if I… died in the flames, with him.”

“So simply vanish instead, to where none can find you.”

“… Would you still… show me your homeland?”

“But of course. I was hoping you’d ask for that.”

Noctis led him to the bridge. Over the bridge. Ignis’ steps were unsteady still, as if his entire being was waiting for him to crash into an invisible wall, to be met with arrows and javelins launched at him. Nothing of the sort happened, and he almost started laughing as he followed Noctis.

* * *

Prince Noctis returned from his travels together with his six companions and one mortal.

The entire island chain was talking about it, but there were certain procedures and protocols that needed to be followed. Noctis was to succeed his father; King Regis and Queen Aulea were to pass beyond the tempest within the next year after Prince Noctis’ coronation. That much the people of Lux knew, but the bigger topic was the stranger that he had brought with him.

The last time someone had brought a stranger they had attempted to pass through the tempest without help. An entire crew of people lost to the storms because one foolish princess had fallen madly in love with a pirate captain.

The mortal that Prince Noctis had brought with him was immediately placed under Ardyn’s care. Barely anyone saw those two men for a week, except for one instance where Ardyn dragged the mortal to a healer of some sort. It was the eighth day that Prince Noctis would be crowned king that they saw Ardyn again at least.

“People of Lux!”

Prince Noctis had not been raised to ever stand before them like this. He had had to lose his three older siblings, and then gone through the journey that only royalty made, and before them stood not the fledgling who had left Lux with wide eyes but someone who had seen the mortal realm with his own eyes.

“Time has passed, and my travels taught me many things. The value of companionship. Dedication, determination. It has given me the ability to bide my time without acting rashly to a degree, even. But most of all it has taught me one thing. Mortals ever look too far into the abyss. Those who shot down Crepus, Ortus and Meridia before I left these very isles showed me that darkness ever exists in their hearts – in all our hearts. But the last experience during my travels has shown me the darkest depths that humans would walk into to oppress their own kind. Their lives so fleeting, and yet they would put hexes and curses on the innocent. Thus I ask you, people of Lux, people of Lucis… Shall we raise the tempest once more? Shall we vanish from history again?”

It was much later that day, at sunset, that Noctis and Ignis sat side by side underneath a tree as they had whenever Noctis had arrived as human rather than a bird.

“I had not expected… that answer.”

“Neither had I.”

They would not be raising the tempest. They would simply abandon the Isles of Lux, vanish in silence rather than the roaring tempest. They would leave one by one until Noctis would be the last to leave.

Ignis shifted nervously, the feather cloak that Ardyn had given him this morning almost too heavy on his shoulders. Noctis plucked a stray feather from it with a laugh.

“White. After years of not being seen at all, you will stand out once we pass over to Lucis.”

“Will I even be able to...”

“Ardyn may be a strange old coot, but he is the very source of these at least on this side of the tempest. It will work, and that I swear upon my name. One day we’ll join them beyond the tempest.” Noctis leaned his head against Ignis’ shoulder with a soft laugh. The sun set, reflecting off the ocean instead of a still lake this time, and Ignis breathed in deeply.

The only issue they had left was his mortality, though the healer that Ardyn had spoken to said that it was a simple matter of getting the necessary spell captured in a stone. Once that spell was done Ignis would be a Lucian as far as longevity was concerned; the only difference being that he would never be able to take it off him. He’d given the healer his necklace for that.

“You know… perhaps standing out might not be all that bad.”

* * *

The Lucians left, one by one. Trade stopped until it died down completely.

The Kingdom of Lux faded from memory. Some people said that it existed at some point, and was the source of the rare magical artefacts that were still in the world. Some others said that it was nonsense and made up by people who had gotten lost at sea only to find themselves stranded on an island with rock formations that looked vaguely like houses, that the tempest had long since swallowed up those puny islands.

Those who did believe that once there had been people living on these islands always said that there was one consistent thing across all of these.

A black swan, rarest bird of all of Eos. And with that black swan was always a white one, floating side by side on the single lake on the largest island until the day they simply vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only thing i have to add as an addendum is... atricapilla was inspired by two things first and foremost:
> 
> 1) swan maiden stories. swan lake, if you stretch it.  
> 2) fairy tales, clearly.
> 
> though i suppose i didnt start it with "once upon a time" and didnt close it with "and they lived happily ever after". for what reason? theres none really. i realised halfway through the second chapter that i accidentally channelled what i knew of the fairy tales The Six Swans and The Seven Ravens (??? is it called that in english, its 4am and i dont know anymore). -w-;;
> 
> thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoyed it!


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